2006 Tour de Georgia route announced, Quietly

After all the hype of the Tour of California, the announcement of the Tour de Georgia seemed to me like a let down. Maybe it's because I live in California and ToC news might take the lead in our news, but we're talking about Georgia, America's first real stage race in years. Not to mention, the Tour de Georgia is now ranked as UCI 2.HC making it the highest ranking stage race in North America!

Similar to last year, the TdG will feature a number of top European teams matched up against America's best D3's. Look for Tom Danielson and Discovery to return to defend the title, Floyd Landis and Phonak, Bobby Julich and Team CSC, Levi Leipheimer and Team Gerolsteiner.

So, go check out their website, it's got pretty colors and stuff!

Did I Mention It's Cold...

It's 11:30 and it's cold! I wonder if ski gear can double as cycling gear? Today we might have to test out some New Old Stock ski equipment!

This Weather Sucks for Riding...

Sure enough that I spent the last few weeks riding the trainer inside because of a knee problem while it's been sunny and warm and as soon as I'm ready to hit the roads winter begins.

Since the sergeon said it was ok to go back to riding easy, I've been on the trainer for at least an hour each day and upwards of two on some. I was fine with this at first because I wasn't riding at all for about 4 weeks and any riding was great at that point but it didn't last long. Trainer bordom sets in quickly and isn't something that is easily fixed, even with cable TV. So, I was glad to get out and ride a few days last week before the rain set in. Today, it's not supposed to rain, though it's wet outside currently. I'm hoping by the time I'm finished with work it will have dried to the point where I can ride without spending the rest of the evening cleaning my bike.

Either way, riding will occur this afternoon whether on the trainer or in the weather. I've managed to keep my weight down during the time off the bike and during the Thanksgiving weekend, so I'm feeling good about being in form for my favorite spring time centuries but will need to step it up in December.

Holiday Tech Support...

This doesn't happen to me often, at least with my parents, because my brother lives more close to them than I. But it's bound to happen often to other people as I find myself doing this kind of stuff for friends. This stuff I speak of is tuning up the ole' computer and the folks at Lifehacker.com have come up with a quick handy list of things to do to get Mom and Dad's machine back in order.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/feature/geek-to-live-how-to-fix-mom-and-dads-computer-138113.php


It explains the importance of cleansing the machine of adware and spyware, patching Windows, removing unneeded applications, minimizing programs not needed in the Start Menu, installing a firewall, and basic computer maintenance. If these things sound unfamiliar, I recommend reading the article or just tell your kid at Christmas that you computer needs their love.

Worse case, you can email me and I'll point you in the direction of more detailed instruction sets or introduce you to my tech support pay rate. I have a holiday special going!

More Fun Office Stuff...

For whatever reason many of the 20 something battery backup units used for things such as workstations, servers, and networking equipment, have been dying. Just two weeks ago, I replaced batteries in 8 units used for workstations and then a week later one of the larger units began to beep at me. I replaced those this morning.

It seemed so simple at first, turn off the server and the networking equipment running on that backup unit, disassemble the unit, remove the old batteries and install the new ones, reboot all equipment and life is good.

Well, a 20 minute job turned into 45 when the I couldn't get a connection to the internet. Right off the bat, I begin PING'ing external IPs to verify there is no connection. Then I realized when I hit the button on the server to reboot, it didn't come back up. Frantically, I depressed the button many times with similar results. Ah, no power, but why? Then began the task of checking the rats nest of cabling. Eventually, I found a loose power cable which had come loose while moving the battery backup unit. Thank goodness, those problems aren't a huge deal but can be trying to figure out when there are so many cables in there. I'd show you a picture, but the server room is top secret!

Fun Work Issues...

Things have been pretty quiet around the office the past couple of months as we race to finish collecting data due by January 15th. But that didn't last long once the first big rain of the season rolled through Chico.

The rain allowed for water to collect around the perimeter of our new building where it settled and still remains. I'm not a builder or know much about building, but when it rains I assume that the foundation isn't supposed to absorb water or allow for that water to soak up through the carpet. The only way we realized this was happening was because of condensation accumulating under the chair mats. So, to dry out the carpet, we removed the mats for a day, but the next day the dampness was replace by white mold.

My boss immediately called the builder to come and explain why this had occurred in a 6 month old building, which he couldn't. The builder first tried to tell us if we drilled holes in the chair mats that the moisture would evaporate, but my boss was having none of that. Finally the builder agreed to have carpet cleaners come in and spray anti-fungal and mold spray and then clear up the mess with 180 degree water.

On a bright note, everyone was able to take off about 2.5 hours yesterday afternoon, very nice.

The bad part is that the office stinks like the spray used to kill the mold, but I think I'm getting used to it now.

Football Pickem...

Dominance has turned into scrambling to keep ahead of the guy in 2nd place. It's amazing that after 11 weeks two of us would be within a point of each other. It should make for some excitement over the next 6 weeks!

I'd post a pic of the standings but Yahoo is doing maintenance on the site and it's down, so you'll all have to wait until next week.

SFGP to become SJGP?

Thanks Mom and Dad for seeing this before I did and telling me about it. LOL, I'm slowing converting my parents into cycling fanatics.

So, after all the hubbub in San Francisco over the lost money and the SFGP, San Jose is stepping to the plate.

Dean Munro, executive director of the San Jose Sports Authority, said he plans to talk with organizers next week about playing host to the one-day race. But many cyclists by the bay believe Threshold is shopping the race around as method to create buzz. As well, many question whether the race could San Francisco's hilly streets and waterfront backdrops. And while Munro is interested in the endevor, he believes the race would face similar monitary issues as when held in San Francisco.

Guess we'll have to wait and see, but it would be awesome to have the race in San Jose, not because it's SJ, but because it's just more available racing in California for cyclists and race fans alike.

Happy Thanksgiving...

With Thanksgiving upon us I thought I'd share an old favorite saying of my brother and mine from back when we were kids. It came from a 1983 movie called "Trading Places" with Eddie Murphy.

So, click on the link to hear the sound clip.

SFGP Cycling Race to End?

The cost of crowd control and police staffing which could not be creatively remedied by promised tax generation has put San Francisco's best-known bike race in jeopardy.

"Sadly, it's a no-win situation, and we simply cannot go forward," said David Chauner, director of San Francisco Cycling LLC, which founded and runs the annual race.

As one of Americas top one day races, the SFGP brought an estimated crowd of 400,000 spectators to the city by the bay. A study commissioned by the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau that found the Labor Day weekend race generated $10.2 million for city businesses this year.

The issue in question is $89,924 bill for crowd control and police staffing from the 2004 race, which was the San Francisco Cycling LLC portion of the $335,000 total cost of policing the event.

Mayor Gavin Newsom argued that the city should pick up most of the tab, because the event brings a flood of tourists who spend money at hotels and restaurants. But other supervisors questioned supporting the race after learning that San Francisco Cycling LLC had yet to pay for debt racked up over the 2004 race. And even more so after they were duped into allowing the race to proceed in 2005, without the previous payment.

We'll have to wait and see as these things sometimes magically work themselves out. But it was interesting to hear from City Supervisor, Aaron Peskin, who wasn't too worried about the loss of the SFGP because San Francisco will host a new bike race in February -- part of the 700-mile Tour of California. Tour organizer AEG has promised to reimburse the city the entire cost of policing the event, Peskin said.

"The net is that San Francisco will be just as well off," he said.

Working On a New Blog...

Shameless self promotion at it's best. I've been working for the past few days getting a new blog set up in the wake of Amgen announcing the Tour of California cycling stage race.

Now is probably not the best time to try and talk it up as I've worked fairly long hours over the weekend to get that darn thing looking pretty, if you know what I mean. Oh yeah, the correct term is aesthetically pleasing!

So anyway, about the site. It all came about abruptly after seeing the announcement of the race on November 2nd and then searching for remaining tourofcalifornia domains for fun. I found it hard to believe Amgen would grab tourofcalifornia.com and amgentourofcalifornia.com but none of the other derivations of the TLD's or country codes available. But I did!

I'm now the proud owner of:

tourofcalifornia.net
tourofcalifornia.us
tourofcalifornia.org
tourofcalifornia.info

All of which are pointing to the one main domain where I'm hosting the site at www.tourofcalifornia.net.

My plans are still not exact, but I'm hoping to travel along with the Tour of California (from here on out known as ToC, cause it's a lot to type Tour of California over and over) and report on it's progress, results, the fans, the roadside madness, teams, riders, and whatever else I might be able to film, photograph, or record.

My goals for this project are few and rather simple. For one, I'd like to recoup the cost of running the site, sans my time of course, which is so far about $130. Next, I'd like to provide readers with an interesting point of view of the race and it's goings on. An associated goal of providing good content is to create some sort of community around the site amongst readers by providing Forums and enabling article comments. Return readers is what I'm shooting for. Folks that will not only be reading what CyclingNews, VeloNews, and the other big boys are saying but are interested in the individual fans experience. What would be really cool was if I could somehow get a press pass and get some exclusive photos or something... ya, keep dreaming!

So, hit up the site and click on the ads since that's how I'll recoup the costs, one penny at a time.

Mother Hips @ La Salle's Tonight

Well, it's been a while since we've seen them last so tonight show should be fun. Actually, it's setting up to be an epic show as the last time they played in Chico at La Salle's with Buffalo Creek, the place rocked, from what I was told. I didn't make it to that show for whatever reason.

So, I got tickets on Tuesday evening cause I was paying attention. I was reading myspace, checking the Buffalo Creek and Mother Hips websites and fan sites looking for info and found the the summer show that I missed sold out in minutes. The had the same get up going where they would sell 250 tickets starting a 7 PM on the Tuesday before the show and then another 230 the night of the show beginning whenever the doors opened. I heard that the night of the show, the 230 tickets sold in 15 minutes. So, after hearing that, I knew that I had to get tickets on Tuesday.

I had stopped by La Salle's around 2 PM to see if they might sell some then but they told me I had to come back at 7. I headed downtown about 6:30 since I figured there would be a line. As I approached La Salle's, it was dark and no one was out front, so I figured I'd walk around the block to stay busy. By the time I made one trip around the block, there was one group of four people at the door. I knew at that point I'd best take up the next position.

By the time the door opened at 7, the line was down nearly to the end of the block and contained about 50 or more people. I'm fairly sure, though I haven't heard, the pre-sale tickets sold out before the end of the line. The people around me were buying lots of 6, 7, and 8 tickets a piece and if that was any indication, the people at the back of the line didn't get any.

That's the pre-Hips show goings on, so far. I'll see about taking some pictures of the show and my friends to post at flickr.com and link here. So keep an eye out for those.

Governor Attacked With Muffin & Ice Cubes

More fall out from the governors Chico visit has hit the media. It seems that the folks outside the Cozy Dinner weren't satisfied with yelling at the governator and flying projectiles insued.

Two incidents are being investigated by his California Highway Patrol security detail. One was the flying muffin and the other a cup of ice cubes.

As Schwarzenegger was leaving the Cozy Diner restaurant on Mangrove Avenue about 9:30 a.m., someone in a large crowd outside a rear entrance tossed a cup of mini ice cubes in his direction.

Some of the cubes appeared to land on the governor, witnesses said, but he didn't react. Seconds before or after the cubes were tossed, a young woman allegedly crushed a muffin in her hand and threw it toward Schwarzenegger.

It isn't know if any of the muffin pieces reached their target.

Attacks of this type involving Schwarzenegger are rare, and are taken seriously, said an official with Schwarzenegger's CHP Protective Detail.

Makes me glad I didn't have any rotten eggs! I'm a bad shot anyway. Oh, and as if you didn't know, all the props the gov was pushing failed.

Krispy Kreme Closes... Trader Joe's Opens?

For a number of reasons, I'm sure, Krispy Kreme in Chico has closed this past week. They only lasted about 2 or so years at the location which now might be filled by Sonic so I hear through the grapevine.

Also, I heard the new Trader Joe's in Chico which is supposed to be on the north side of town by the Kmart, will open December 2nd.

What we really need in this town is a Fresh Choice or something a little bit more healthy than the usual fast food. Oh, and let this healthy place be on the south side of town, while I'm dreaming.

Governor Gets Mixed Reception

I have to say that I'm against all of the propositions in this special election, but I am for the governor visiting our town, even if it is to plug said propositions. It's nice to think that Chico is an important enough place for the governor to visit twice in the past few months. Remember that he made an appearance at Sierra Nevada where Schwarzenegger was guest of honor during an unofficial dedication of Sierra Nevada's four hydrogen-powered fuel cell power plant, which is the largest commercial installation in the state. Remember to Read More!

Unfortunately for the governor, I believe there were more people at the Cozy Dinner to protest his propositions rather than support them or even support the governor himself.

The governor left Santa Monica early Monday morning on his flight to Chico. After stopping at the Cozy Diner, he was to fly to Roseville, then to San Ramon, Fresno, Corona, Orange and Del Mar. The governor planned a 30-minute visit inside the Cozy Diner to rally support for his package of reform propositions.

When the crowd grew to nearly 300 people outside the dinner and became a public safety issue, several Chico officers were called to the scene and Schwarzenegger was brought in a back door when he arrived. He was greeted with cheers when he walked in. He didn't make a speech but walked from table to table, shaking hands, posing for pictures and passing out a voter's guide.

It was crowded inside the small cafe while Schwarzenegger was there. Every booth seemed full. The governor walked about shadowed by security officers and his aides. Television, radio and news reporters were herded here and there by the governor's press officers.

Of course, the situation inside seemed well managed by the governors people. It was noted that after 8 AM, whenever people finished eating and left, others took their places, and Republican Party officials would approach them and put "Arnold stickers" on their shirts. As well, it seemed the governor's aides told him to only approach booths where people were wearing "Arnold stickers."

Ah, life in a small Northern California town!

Football Pickem, Woot Woot!

With New England's victory last night I was the big winner. This is the third of five weeks which I have had the best score in the league. I've picked up some points on my nearest competitor and have a 15 point lead going into the 10th week. That sure isn't much to bank on other than I've been doing well over the past 5 weeks.

There also seems to be quite a race for 3rd going on as well between Carioca, MuffinMan, GoBroncos, Wrong more than Right, Random, and tunes who are all within 22 points of each other.

So, view the picture to the right and weep if you happen to be playing in this league, otherwise, ring the bells! Ding ding dong!

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk...

But spilled coffee, it might be time for a tissue.

I'm like that. I can find humor in most everything or at least can look on the bright side when milk does spill so it's with that attitude which I convey this next post.

Friday is typically a mellow end of week sort of day and last Friday was much like this until about 10 AM when one of my users had an accident. The Venti Starbuck$ coffee cup on her desk decided to get jiggy with the laptop sitting on it's port replicator under the desk. Well, after drying off the machine and letting it sit over the weekend before really looking into it's issues, I realize the score is:

Coffee 1
Laptop 0

I've read up on the types of problems liquid on laptops might create and even though the machine won't boot, not all is lost. The harddrive seems to be perfectly fine as well as most the other components shy of the motherboard. I'm not a hardware expert so in case my limited troubleshooting is totally incorrect, I'll be sending it out to a local repair guy to get his opinion.

The burning question will be whether or not the cost of replacing the motherboard is worth the value of the machine, a Dell Inspiron 5000.

Being that I'm the Tech dude, I wish I had some handy tips on how to avoid such accidents, but alas, imagine workers without coffee, impossible in my world.

I wonder if nice chai or yerba mate would have caused similar damage?

Update To Knee Issue

I did go see the surgeon on Wednesday 26 of last month to hear his thoughts on my knee pain, when I realized in the period of time I was waiting to visit him, the pain had gone away.

After speaking with the surgeon about what I thought I might have done to the knee and what I was doing currenly, which was laying around waiting and resting, he determined it was best to take a "wait and see" approach, since the pain had subsided. While I was there he read the report of my MRI and also got some X-rays taken. The X-rays showed the spacing amongst the parts of my knee were all good and even though the report from the MRI mentioned deteroration of the knee, he was apprehensive to scope it if the pain had subsided.

So, he suggested I get back to riding but take it easy. Easy to me means I'd better stay off the road and on the trainer inside the house. I say this because as soon as I get out on the open road, there is always someone to catch or a sprint to the next light and or street sign. Yes, I know it's a sick game I play in my head, but even old guys can dream of being a pro or at least pretend to ride like one for 10 to 20 meters.

Anyway, I've been taking it easy for the past 10 days, riding all but one of those days. Usually I'm doing efforts of either 1 or 2 hours, but the monotany of not going anywhere is driving me mad. Even with the TV and endless channels I'm never satisfied as when out on the road. Only problem is the weather is beginning to change here in Chico; yes, even in California there is winter, though in Chico it doesn't arrive until November. I'm looking to get out and ride sometime this week cause I can't ride much longer than 2 hours inside and I need to start doing some 3 and 4 hour rides. I hope to get a nice long one in this weekend.

So far so good, no pain....

First EcoCab in Chico

Ah, nothing like the smell of french fries emmitted from the exhaust of a Mercedes. Yup, that is the smell that comes from the rear of Bryan Gabbard's 1978 Mercedes cab which runs on vegetable oil. Gabbard started running the cab service on Oct 27 and has been passing along the message of alternatives to fossil fuels while carting folks around the Chico area. Before running the cab, Gabbard worked as a pedicab driver for three years. Gabbard is a masters student at CSUC studying geography but is applying his interest in green alternitives to create a niche business in the area.

Way to go Bryan! I love the smell of fries!

Governor Visits North State

Chico's Cozy Diner can expect a visit from Gov. Schwarzenegger Monday morning. From about 9 to 9:30 a.m., the governor will be shaking hands and talking about the four ballot measures he's promoting in Tuesday's election, said Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico. Schwarzenegger was asked to come to the North State to speak with voters about Props 74, 75, 76, and 77 and because Keene believed the governor would get good media coverage by traveling through the area prior to elections.

I wonder if it's too late to get rotten eggs for this event?!

Mtn. Biker Wins Red Bull Road Rage

Chalk one up for the mountain bikers, cause they took it to the roadies yesterday at the Red Bull Road Rage event in Tuna Canyon, California. One would think that given the even was on pavement the roadies might have the advantage, but I guess those mtn. biking handling skills have some crossover effect.

Here is a link I found with some pictures of the event.


Here are some results:

Myles Rockwell 4:24.7
David McCook 4:25.9
Brian Lopes 4:28.6
John Wike 4:33.1
Mark Weir 4:36.1
Erik Saunders 4:36.1
David Clinger 4:37.9

The original prize purse was doubled to $10,000 thanks to Avid Brakes and broke down as follows:

Time Trial:
1st place: $ 3,000 - Mountain biker Myles Rockwell of Durango, CO (Time: 4:24.7)
2nd place: $ 2,000 - Road cyclist David McCook of Mountain View, CA (Time: 4:25.9)
3rd place: $ 1,000 – Mountain biker Brian Lopes of Mission Viejo, CA (Time: 4:28.6)

Pack Race:
1st place: $ 3,000 - Mountain biker Myles Rockwell of Durango, CO (Time: 4:24.68)
Avid Speed Trap:
Winner: $ 1,000 - Road cyclist David McCook of Mountain View, CA (Speed: 58 mph)

So, it looks as if Myles was buying drinks last night!

Recent Deer Attacks Cause for Fear?

The Department of Fish and Game is reminding Californians that feeding deer is a dangerous and illegal practice. Three incidents this month have provided examples of the harm that can befall people, wildlife and pets when humans feed and allow deer to become too comfortable around them.

All three events since late September followed the same pattern: humans fed deer that then became aggressive and attacked when humans came too close to them.

In San Diego County, a man died several weeks after he was gored in the mouth by a buck he surprised while working in his backyard. Other incidents included a buck attacking a couple in their garden in Mendocino County, and a buck in Orinda attacking two dogs, killing one of them.

In all of these incidents, the deer involved was eventually killed by DFG or federal wildlife officials.

The question that needs to be asked is what is truly prompting deer to attack unarmed humans with such frequency in the last two months?

Could it be that deer are beginning to associate people with food or as food? Or could it be some sort of new deer paramilitary movement to rid themselves of this human nuisance in their territories?

Some of life's questions are never answered!

Red Bull Road Rage

So we all know that Red Bull sponsors crazy stuff like x-games type events both summer and winter as well as some mountain bike downhill events across the globe. But this event they are running tomorrow through Tuna Canyon in Malibu, California is different. It's basically like a down hill time trial, on the road,the first half of the day and then the second half is like the popular 4 person snowboard-cross events where 4 riders will start at the top and battle each other down the course to see who comes out on top, usually with the top two riders advancing. Both disciplines will be awarded prizes for first through third. One other prize will be given to the ride with the fastest time through a given speed check.

The race course is 2.5 miles long and descends 2000 feet, so as to be sure to allow for maximum speed fan excitement. To keep some uniformity in the race, bikes will be required to use 700c wheels and drop style handle bars. Unfortunately the race is closed to the public for safety reasons. Probably because anyone on the side of the road is a potently casualty incase of a crash by a rider. I assume that they will be reaching speeds of 60 + MPH whenever the road straightens, but it's sure to be the turns where the real excitement occurs.

To add to the excitement will be this years MC, Bob Roll, who will undoubtedly spew major rants on fun loving cycling topics which should include great stories about the high caliber field. Speaking of the field, it includes a who's who of both road cycling and mountain biking/downhill riders. Riders like Marty Nothstein, Tony Cruz, David Clinger, Erik Saunders, David McCook, Steve Bauer, Carl Decker come from a road background where as Brian Lopes, Eric Carter, Myles Rockwell, and the lone woman, Marla Streb.

So, if you are interested in following the race tomorrow yourself, surf over to http://www.redbullroadrage.com and check it out. It would be interesting to see how some of the European pros might do at an event like this, some one like "il Falco" Paolo Savoldelli who is known for going really fast downhill. Just a thought!

Frankie Andreu to Attend Chico Velo Holiday Party

Chico Velo will host a Holiday Party in the Big Room at Sierra Nevada Brewery December 5th which will feature Frankie Andreu as the guest of honor.

Frankie Andreu is one of the most popular and well-respected names in American professional cycling. He retired from racing at the end of 2000 after a 12-year professional career and assumed the position of the United States Postal Service Team U.S. Race Director. During his racing career he competed in the Tour de France nine times, a current American record. Frankie was the captain of the 1999 and 2000 Tour de France winning United States Postal Service team that powered Lance Armstrong to victory. He was one of the team's most selfless performers and most depended on workers. In addition, he competed in three Tours of Spain and one Giro d' Italia. His racing experience not only encompassed Grand Tours, but also included high placed finishes in World Cup events, World Championships, Spring Classics, and two Olympic Games, 1988 placing 8th and 1996 placing fourth in Atlanta. Frankie is also a gifted writer and his Tour de France commentaries have been published on many different websites. Since 2001, FrankieÕs face can be seen on the Outdoor Life Network every July during coverage of the Tour de France.

It's a toss up whether to go or not since the tickets are $40 for members and $50 for non members. But the food is good at the brewery, as are the ales. And I hear that Frankie is a real cool and funny guy.

Holy Cow, More Tour of California News

Ok, so yesterday, Race presenter AEG, announced its title sponsor, route and participating teams today in a press conference in San Francisco and on top of already having 6 European team and two American Continental teams commited, one stage begins in my original home town of Martinez. WOW, WOW, and WOW again. I'll be taking time off work to be there for that!

16 teams will take the start of the 700 mile race, with eight teams already confirmed to participate. Discovery Channel, Gerolsteiner, Davitamon-Lotto, Phonak, Saunier-Duval and T-Mobile will represent the Pro Tour teams, while Health Net/Maxxis and Navigators Insurance will defend the Continental Tour's reputation. Beginning with a prologue in San Francisco the race will move south, from Sausalito to Santa Rosa, Martinez to San Jose, an ITT in San Jose, and then from the Monterey Peninsula to San Luis Obispo, then to Santa Barbara and south again to Thousand Oaks. The race will finish in a circuit race around Los Angeles, specifically in the south bay area of Redondo Beach.

I'm not sure what happened, but there was originally talk of a stage from Sacramento to Tahoe. That would have been a very tough and great stage, so I'm can't imagine why they didn't go with that. The only thing I can come up with is it didn't fit into the rest of the mapping of the race. If you notice the picture of the Tour, it's moving in a sort of southly direction.

On top of there being a top European rides coming to the Tour, there will be some of the most prominent American riders here too. Floyd Landis and his Phonak Team, Levi Leipheimer and Gerolsteiner Team, Fast Freddy Rodriguez and Davitamon Lotto, Chris Horner and Saunier Duval-Prodir and of course George and the Discovery boys. This is bound to be the best classification of riders ever assembled for a bike race in the USA.

Oh my, I can't stand the excitement of a stage beginning in Martinez. The place is going to be a sardine can with all the people that will show up for the beginning of the stage. Anyway, before my excitement gets the better of me, I'd best post a link to the Official Tour of California website. Also, if you care to watch the Press Conference from the announcment, here it is:

56k - 100k link
300K link

On that note, it's nearly 5:30 AM and time for me to hope on my bike and get some miles in before work!

Irony Strikes Tour of California...

This coming year will be the first running of a 9 day stage race thoughout California, which I previously reported on but now it's got a new twist with the news that the world's biggest producer of EPO (erythropoietin) - arguably cycling's most abused drug - is to be the main sponsor Go Amgen!.

Read the article here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=afp-cyclingusaepodoping&prov=afp&type=lgns

Basketball Begins Today...

Not that I'm all stoked for basketball or anything, but I am playing in a couple of fantasy leagues this season. One through Yahoo and the other through ESPN. The game over at ESPN is my favorite as I've won the basketball league for the past two or three years. Yey for me! The Yahoo game is only so-so, I can't say that I care that much for the format. Either way, I'm looking forward to something to take my attention away from the fact the King's probably aren't going to make the playoffs with the Sun's playing the way they did last year. It's going to be a real fight in the Pacific. Should be exciting one way or another.

Pickem Football Update...

I didn't do as well as I have over the past couple of weeks, this week in the Pickem Football league and now hold only a mere 12 point margin over my closest competitor. I guess there isn't much gloating to be done this time around since I didn't gain any ground but lost some. I hope to do a little better next week.